Mira lifted her plate a little higher, making sure the shining roasted fish were fully visible. Then she strolled toward the dining area with the calm confidence of someone who already knew she'd won.
Just as she passed, she heard her father's voice—stern and suspicious—as he questioned Elora.
"Elora, why did you all catch this little? What happened out there?"
Mira slowed her steps just enough to listen.
Elora instantly lied, her tone smooth like she'd rehearsed it a thousand times. "Father, it wasn't our fault. The river had barely any fish today. We tried our best."
Right at that moment, Mira walked by in full view, her plate stacked with twelve fat, perfectly roasted fish. She didn't say a word, just walked slowly, deliberately, making sure everyone at the table saw her.
Silence fell.
Eyes widened.
Elora stiffened like she'd been slapped.
Mira smiled inwardly and disappeared down the passage to her room.
[Umm, host… is that all? That's all you wanted to do?]
Of course that's all, Mira thought. First of all, Elora's terrified, angry face alone was already a sweet dessert. But most importantly?
Her father had heard Elora's lie…
and then seen Mira walk by with fish that clearly didn't match the story.
He would definitely question her later.
It wasn't a big revenge. But it was something.
And yes—she admitted it—she was petty.
Whatever.
She jumped on her bed and began devouring her fish feast happily. But after only three fishes, she froze, dropped the fourth, and lay flat on the bed with confusion and pain.
Why was she full already?
Three fished??
This wasn't even half the food she normally ate in her real world.
She tried to force herself to swallow more but her stomach felt ready to explode. It hurt, it stretched, it complained, but her heart refused to stop eating.
Why? Why? Why??
Was it because this body wasn't used to big portions? The original Mira barely ate anything. So maybe the body had gotten used to starving.
Or maybe she was just too much of a foodie.
She didn't know.
But she knew one thing the appetite needed to increase.
Because what did she mean by spending all that effort to cook a whole pile of fish, refusing to share with anyone, going through stress and danger… only to eat three??
It was annoying her badly.
She groaned, rolled on the bed, and cursed the world when Stella's voice suddenly chimed:
[Congratulations host. You completed your task. Your reward has been issued. You have received 45 points.]
Mira's eyes opened wide.
Oh wow… she totally forgot about that.
Well… at least something good happened today.
Points meant…
Makeover time.
"Stella, I have points now, right? That means I can bring items from my original world?"
[Yes host, that's correct! Do you want to try it out?]
"Of course! Why are you even asking?"
She sat up with excitement and immediately started listing everything she wanted.
Body wash.
Face wash.
Shaver for the hair on her face.
Razor for her eyebrows.
Face cream.
Body cream.
Shampoo.
Conditioner.
Hair cream.
She was smiling already when Stella interrupted:
[Umm host, you'll have to reduce that list… a lot.]
Mira frowned. "Reduce what? Why?"
[Host… you have only 45 points. All the items you listed cost more than 45 points.]
"You mean I got excited for nothing?! Tell me how many points per item!"
[Each item costs 9 points.]
Mira did the maths in her head and hissed loudly.
She could only retrieve five items.
She groaned, almost cried, then sighed deeply. "Fine. How do I bring them?"
[You have to remember the exact name written on the item. Focus on it without losing concentration.]
That didn't sound too hard.
She closed her eyes and focused, trying her best to remember the product labels. As she pictured each item, a glowing hologram screen popped out in front of her, floating in the air.
Her jaw dropped.
There it was.... The exact item she imagined, displayed neatly with a "1" under it.
This was actually too cool.
She repeated the process, and after a while, she successfully retrieved five items:
– Body wash
– Face wash
– One razor (which she would now use for both face and eyebrows)
– A 2-in-1 body & face cream
– Hair shampoo
Not her full list… but it would do for now.
"Stella, they're inside the screen. How do I bring them out physically?"
[Just think about the item again, host. It will appear in your hand.]
"Perfect." Mira smiled as the hologram vanished. "Stella, you didn't tell me you had such a cool feature!"
[Host, even I didn't know. It seems the more tasks you complete, the more I upgrade.]
Well… that made her excited.
Now it was bath time. She needed to wash off the dirt, the smoke smell, the sweat, everything. The problem no was... Should she go to the river like everyone else? Everyone except her parents. Because from the original Mira's memories, she knew high-ranking beasts owned more advanced things.
And although her parents weren't extremely high-ranked, they were still leaders.
Meaning they owned something people like her weren't supposed to touch:
A stone-carved bathtub.
And that was where the issue came from. She was contemplating on washing in the river like other beast folks, but the issue was she wasn't a beast folk in reality, and she wasn't mentally prepared at the thought of having her bath in a shared river where other people could see her naked.
But at the same time, the risk of using her parents' bathtub and getting caught and punished weighed her down.
What could she possibly do now?